- WPF/E Applications
- Are cross-platform ready (Mac OS X and Windows)
- Do not require the client to have the .NET 3.0 runtime. Instead, WPF/E applications run within a browser plugin.
- Do not support code-behind
- Rely on JavaScript
- XBAPs
- Require the client to have the .NET 3.0 runtime components installed.
- Are not cross-platform enabled. They will only run on Windows machines.
- Support code-behind
- Must run within IE (or use the IETab plugin for Firefox)
In my personal opinion, In general, I intend to use the technologies in the following environments:
| WPF | XBAPs | WPF/E |
| Desktop solutions | Intranet Applications | Internet Applications |
| Organization specific gadgets | General purpose gadgets | |
In general, WPF/E provides a more portable solution while currently sacrificing some of the functionality that XBAPs provide. In addition, XBAPs provide a slightly better developer experience simply because debugging JavaScript code can be somewhat tedious in comparison to debugging some code-behind pages.
How do you intend to use these technologies? I look forward to your comments.